Theodore nagel



Patented Sept. 9, 1924..

UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE- THEODORE NAGEL, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FUEL.

No Drawing.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE NAGEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident the borough of Brooklyn, county of kings, and city and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fuels, of which the following is specification.

This invention relates to the production a binding material and its use in various aggiomerating processes, and particularly applicable to the manufacture of fuel ln'iquets from anthracite cuhn, coke breeze, etc, for the production of water-insoluble, smokeless, domestic fuel. It refers particularly to the production, at a reasonable cost, of a water-soluble liquid adhesive material which can be converted into a water-insolubie, hard, smokeless binder.

The object of this invention is to provide a practical binding material for briquetting the large tonnage of comminuted fuels which are practically waste products and of little commercial value in their present form, and which when agglomerated are converted into smokeless, domestic fuel substitutes.

With these and other objects in view, this invention consists in the various steps and combination of steps constituting the process, all as will be more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The carrying out of my invention may be best illustrated by describing the manufacture of hard water-insoluble, smokeless briquets in which my improved binding ma terial is used. The smokeless fuels available for this process are lines of anthracite, coke, semi-carbonized bituminous coal and carbonized lignite.

.As an example of my improved binding material. I mix approximately one part by Weight of sulphuric acid of not over 50% strength with four parts by weight of molasses or black strap-concentrated residue syrup after extraction of sugar crystals from cane juice.

It has been found that the actual amount of binding material required varies with the fineness of the fuel particles due primarily to the increased surface that must be wetted and cemented together. WVith 100 parts by weight of anthracite culm for example ap proximately 8 parts by weight of the binding material, just referred to, is required to make successful briquets. To convert the Application filed December 8, 1923. Serial No. 679,306.

These binders are softened by heating and mixed with heated fuel particles to prevent chilling the binder. The mixture is pressed to form briquets which on cooling become hard and water-insoluble. These briquets on burning produce smoke, soften and disintegrate when the binder burns before the coal particles are consumed. All binders of this nature when burning are partly volatilized and give elf carbon compounds which with insuflicient oxygen produce finely divided carbon in the form of smoke. A; method to overcome these objections'is to transform the volatile carbon compounds into nonvolatile carbonaceous material. This 1 have succeeded in doing.

Such dehydrating agents as sulphuric acid, for example, if sufficiently concen trated, possess the property of decomposingcarbohydrates, such as sugars, cellulose, et c;, and leave carbon. When the dehydrating agent is sulliciently dilute, however (sulphuric acid of not over 50% strength, for example), heat is necessary to bring about the decomposition and the formation of car bon above mentioned.

The Clli y'tll'fltlllg agent which I use to form the desired improved binding material is sufficiently dilute so that heat is required to produce the chen'iical reaction above referred to, with the result that when baking to cure briquets made with molasses and dilute sulphuric acid as the binding material, the carbo-hydrates are split up by the acid leaving a carbon which forms a bond between the solid particles. This baking also causes this acid to decompose the other organic and inorganic materials contained in the binding material, converting them into water-insoluble substances and rendering the binder as well as the briquets 'wateninsoluble, smokeless, and hard.

I have thus discovered a method of binding together finely divided materials with a ater-soluble binding material tue chemical composition of which is so altered on heating that it is converted into a hard, water-insoluble, smokeless binder.

By water-insoluble I mean briquets which resist the disintegrating action of the water encountered by coal in the usual handling, shipping and outdoor storage of fuel.

By smokeless or nonvolatilebinder I mean that upon burning the binder does not produce more smoke than anthracite coal for example.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the process without departing from the spirit of this invention. Therefore I do not wish to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

l/Vhat I claim is:

l. The method of making a binding material for finely divided substances, which method consists in mixing a liquid possessing adhesive properties with a dilute dehyrating agent without the generation of heat, while so proportioning the ingredients of the mixture that, upon heating after incorporation with comminuted material and pressing, a reaction will result to produce hard, waterinsoluble agglomerates.

2. A method of making a binding material for agglomerated comminuted carbonaceous materials which method consists in mixing a dilute acid with an organic adhesive liquid without the generation of heat,

. while so proportioning the ingredients of the mixture that, upon heating after incorporation with the comminuted material and pressing, a reaction will result to produce hard and water-insoluble agglomerates.

3. A method of makin a binding material for briquetted fuels which method consists in mixing molasses and dilute sulphuric acid without the generation of heat, while so proportioning the in'gredientsof the mixture that, upon heating after incorporation with comminuted fuels and pressing, a reaction will result to produce hard and water-ins0luble briquets.

4. A method of making a binding material for briquetted fuels which method consists in mixing molassesand dilute sul phuric acid'without the generation of heat, while so proportioning the ingredients of the mixture that, upon heating above 400 F. after incorporation with comminuted mate rial and pressing, a reaction will result to produce hard, smokeless and water-insolnble briquets.

5. The process of making a binder for briqutted, smokeless, water-insoluble fuels which method consists in mixing about 1 part of sulphuric acid, of approximately 50% strength, with a parts of molasses by Weight without the generation of heat and incorporating 8 parts of this mixture with 100 parts of anthracite culm, by weight, so that upon heating above L00 F. after pressing into briquets a reaction will result to produce a binder which is hard and waterinsoluble and is smokeless on burning.

6. The herein described new composition of matter constituting a binding material for agglomerating finely divided substances which consists of a water soluble liquid mixture of a dehydrating agent and anorganic adhesive liquid in such proportions that it becomes hard and water-insoluble upon heating.

7. The herein described new composition of matter constituting a binding material for briquetting comminuted materials consisting of a mixture of a dilute acid and an organic adhesive in such proportions that on heating over 400 F. a reaction will result to produce a hard and water-insoluble binder.

8. The herein described new composition of matter constituting a binding material for briquetting finely divided, smokeless fuels, consisting of dilute sulphuric acid and molasses mixed in such proportion that after the briquets are formed and heated a reaction will result to produce a hard and waterinsoluble binder which on burning emits no smoke; substantially as described.

9. The herein described new composition of matter constituting a binding material for briquetting finely divided smokeless fuels consisting of 1 part of sulphuric acid of approximately 50% strength and 4 parts of molasses, whereby the reaction caused by heating converts the binding material into a hard, water-insoluble, smokeless binder: substantially as described- 10. The herein described new composition of matter constituting a binding material which comprises a mixture of an acid and a water-soluble, adhesive material characterized in that upon heating the mixture a water-insoluble, cemeutitiousmaterial will be produced, substantially as described.

This specification signed this 7th day of December, 1923.

THEODORE NAGEL. 

